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Jan 10, 2013

December 15th Meeting Recap

Our December 15th meeting was a lot of fun!

The
Portland Police Highland Guard pipe band was our guest band for the
evening, and they treated us to a rather unusual band performance. Their concert style was both informal and personal - several numbers featured the piping of an individual or small ensemble, and they also played several original tunes written by band member Brian Kelly. It was a
refreshing approach for a pipe band, the caliber of the piping was amazing, and the audience clearly enjoyed
the very unusual concert!

Brad
Walker, the PM for Kells Irish Pipes and Drums pipe band was the Local Hero for December.
Despite years of piping at the Kells Portland pub, playing solo at our
piping club was a new experience for him. He did a great job and
presented several numbers from the band's repertoire. One of my favorites
of Brad's pieces was a combination slow aire and piobaireachd - a different approach that created a lovely tune.

Professional piper Will Nichols of the Simon Frasier University Pipe Band was our guest performer, and while he played a variety of traditional tunes, he also featured Breton-style pipe music prominently in his performance. It was lively and really entertaining! Will described Breton tunes overall as music that really made you want to dance, and by the number of toes I saw tapping all around the hall, meeting attendees very much appreciated the departure from time-honored Scottish style piping. If, like me, you'd like to see Will's, Brad's, and PPHG's performances again, or if you didn't get a chance to be there for December's recital, head over to our YouTube video channel OPSINPDX VIDEOS to watch the evening's entertainment.

Photographs taken throughout the evening during the competition and performance can be viewed on our OPS Picasa photo album.